Pakistan Says Officer Shot as India Border Tension Deepens

Indian troops patrol at the international border in Suchetgarh, about 30km from Jammu, India on August 17, 2013. Photographer: Nitin Kanotra/Hindustan Times via Getty Images

Aug. 22 (Bloomberg) -- The Pakistani army said Indian
troops shot and killed one of its officers as growing violence
across a disputed border threatens to jeopardize efforts to
improve relations between the nuclear-armed countries.

A Pakistani army captain was killed near Skardu in the
disputed Kashmir region and another soldier was seriously
wounded, said a Pakistani military official who asked not be
identified because he’s not authorized to discuss the matter
publicly. Indian troops began firing at 11:15 p.m. on Aug. 20
and the two sides exchanged fire for three hours, the official
said.

India and Pakistan have been trading fire and counter-accusations since the deaths of five Indian soldiers on the
Kashmir border earlier this month. Indian Defense Minister A.K.
Antony told parliament on Aug. 20 that Pakistani troops carried
out that attack. Pakistan has denied involvement and accused
India of breaking a cease-fire agreement.

“For the last 10 years for most of the time the cease-fire
has held,” said S. Chandrasekharan, director of the New Delhi-based South Asia Analysis Group. “The situation has changed in
the last 15 days with the killing of the Indian soldiers. My
fear is we are entering a dangerous phase where the violence
could quickly escalate.”

The violence may damage the chances of Indian Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz
Sharif holding talks at the United Nations in New York next
month. Singh said in a speech last week that Pakistan needs to
prevent its territory being used as a base for attacks on India
if relations between the countries are to improve.

‘Unprovoked Firing’

Pakistan had proposed resuming peace talks after dialogue
stalled amid some of the most serious border clashes in a decade
in Kashmir at the start of the year. Pakistan suggested dates
for talks on access to water from major rivers, and the Sir
Creek maritime border, as well as the meeting between Singh and
Sharif.

The talks will only take place if there is a reduction in
border violence, Syed Akbaruddin, a spokesman for the Indian
Foreign Ministry, said at a briefing in New Delhi yesterday.
“An environment in which terrorism or violence is perpetuated
against India is not the right type of environment for this,”
Akbaruddin said.

Pakistan summoned India’s deputy high commissioner to
protest the “unprovoked firing” across the border, according
to a statement from Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry yesterday. The
escalation damages the chances of improving ties, the ministry
said.

Domestic Pressures

India’s government faces elections next year and will be
under pressure from the main opposition party to take a hard
line against any provocation, Chandrasekharan said, while in
Pakistan the army may be trying to prove its independence from a
new government.

Sharif returned to power in a May general election, more
than 13 years after his second period as premier was cut short
by a 1999 army coup. He is battling to revive the Pakistan
economy amid a spike in sectarian violence and electricity
blackouts of as long as 12 hours a day.

The neighbors have fought two of their three wars since
1947 over Kashmir, which is divided between the countries and
claimed by both.

Sitanshu Kar, spokesman for the Indian Defense Ministry,
referred calls to the army yesterday. Messages left with the
army spokesman in New Delhi were not immediately returned.

India Demands

Defense Minister Antony said on Aug. 20 that the government
was ready to respond if Pakistan continued with attacks. He
called for Pakistan to take action against its own troops that
he accused of carrying out this month’s attack and one in
January when one of three soldiers killed was beheaded.

“Our restraint should not be taken for granted,” Antony
told parliament.

In the first seven months of this year there were 57 cease-fire violations along the border, 80 percent more than the same
period last year, Antony said in parliament Aug. 8. India had
successfully foiled 17 infiltration attempts this year and
killed 19 militants in the last two months, he said.